Scots National Theatre packs a punch with strong line-up

Caledonia, which will be produced in conjunction with the International Festival, will be written by former spin doctor Alistair Beaton about the colonial misadventure that bankrupted Scotland and led to the Act of Union and the foundation of the Bank of Scotland.

Another major new work, Beautiful Burnout, at the Fringe will centre around the tough world of junior boxing. It is being written by Bryony Lavery and created in conjunction with the Frantic Assembly theatre company.

Associate director John Tiffany said: "It is lovely to be working with all these Scottish artists, writers, directors and musicians, all of whom have a real passion and ambition to tell stories that we think are relevant to the modern Scottish audience in new and exciting ways."

Caledonia, which NTS hopes will become one of the most talked-about shows of the Edinburgh International Festival, will use the disastrous Darien scheme to parody the current woes of the Scottish banking system. Beaton, a former speechwriter for Gordon Brown, wrote TV dramas The Trial of Tony Blair and A Very Social Secretary', and also The Little Book of New Labour Bollocks.

• From Peter Pan to big gay weddings, Scots National Theatre unveils new programme

Beautiful Burnout will debut at this year's Fringe. It will be one of the first shows staged in Pleasance Forth, a major new venue based in the University Sports Hall.

Also announced today is The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart, a Scots language project inspired by the Border ballads in which playwright David Greig and director Wils Wilson will create an evening of storytelling, music and theatre at staged "lock-ins" in pubs across Scotland.

National Theatre artistic director Vicky Featherstone said: "The pub tour is something we have been looking at for some time and comes out of David Greig's obsession with Border ballads, the Scots language and the Scottish tradition of storytelling and singing.

"We try to keep things fresh in terms of generating new styles of theatre. The plays we have announced this season are very much a part of that."

The National Theatre will be working for the first time this year with Random Accomplice in Glasgow to produce the final part of the Little Johnny trilogy: Little Johnny's Big Gay Wedding, where audience members will be encouraged to come along in costume as part of the wedding party.

Orkney Festival will be the setting for an outing of Duncan Maclean's musical play, Long Gone Lonesome, a celebration of the life of Shetland fisherman and blues musician Thomas Fraser featuring the Lone Star Swing Band.

This year will also see a revival of Black Watch, the international multi-award winning hit based on the stories of Scottish soldiers based in Iraq.

The Scotsman's Theatre Critic Joyce McMillan said the additions to the National Theatre's programme for 2010 showed a strong commitment to developing new and experimental work and working with existing Scottish theatre companies.

"I think it is quite an interesting programme. It shows a commitment to exploring other kinds of entertainment that have a high level of drama."

She said the pub tour was reminiscent of the tradition of theatre pioneered by John McGrath and the 7:84 Company. "One of the things McGrath wanted to do was to change the conditions of theatre in order to challenge the audience."

Ms Featherstone said Black Watch was returning due to popular demand. "Because of Afghanistan, it is still relevant. We get e-mails every day asking when people can see it again.

"If you have a production which is so successful, you have a responsibility to put it on; it becomes part of your repertoire."